If you thought this ABBA song couldn’t get any cheesier, you were wrong.

Noah Stewart has an absolutely beautiful voice and gorgeous control, but the song arrangements on this album leave much to be desired.  They’re definitely tailored to the demographic that loves Charlotte Church pledge programs on PBS (if you get my meaning, which I’m sure you do).  I guess it’s okay for an intro album, and there are a couple tracks that escape the corniness (his take on “Recondita Armonia” and “Shenandoah” especially), but here’s hoping he releases something less sappy (and more straight-up operatic, perhaps?) next time.

Anyway, here’s an interview he did with NPR in June about the album.

Source: Spotify

tremblebot:

ABBA

BY DENNIS COOPER  

for Brad Gooch

We snort all our coke
on the way to the party.
We bring the new album.
We dance while we listen. 

The band is two women
whose husbands control them.
They do not speak our language.
Each syllable’s an obstacle.
 
They are in love with a man.
He is in love with another.
But they’re in no hurry.
They could wait forever.
 
And when they are out
on the make for a lover,
they’ll always find him.
They are the tigers. 

We are stoned too stoned to.
We dance till we’re tired
and listen to lyrics
we mouth like a language. 

What we feel, when we
hear them, is inexpressible.
We can’t put into words.
Maybe our dances show it. 

ABBA lives for their music.
We long for each other.
They see what we’re doing.
They put it on record.
 
They play it, we listen.
We are absolutely stunned.
We feel, and they know
more than anyone can say.

There is much that is wonderful about this poem.